An interview with kimcgray95 conducted by glitterandasphalt.

Kimcgray is the author of Shade, this year's Pokémon Watty Awards one-shot champion. It was nominated for Best Depiction of Setting, Best Ending, and Most Polished Prose.

What gave you the inspiration for Shade?

The inspiration for Shade was spontaneous and random. I'd been trying to brainstorm for several days an idea for a one-shot, but was having a lot of trouble coming up with a simple storyline that I could roll out in less than 20 pages. I guess my brainstorming bled into my subconscious, because that night, I dreamt up an idea where this guy, stranded in the desert, was assisted by a herd of Torterra. As soon as I woke up I started writing it down lest I forget it.

Well, I'm glad you! Shade was actually one of my personal favorites out of the entries I read this year. I really liked the portrayals of the Pokémon in this story. Those mean Trapinch! Do you have anything to say about them?

Sure. So, Trapinch seemed like an ideal predator for a desert setting. I might've chosen a different Pokémon to play that role, but I am VERY pro-Hoenn (the original Ruby and Sapphire are my favorite Pokémon games EVER and I kinda stopped playing after that generation), so I don't know many desert Pokémon past the Hoenn Pokédex. Plus, I love Trapinch because of Flygon. It was interesting to portray them as predators in the story, rather than the cute little critter you see in the games.

And you really did a great job of doing so! Do you have any tips you'd like to share?

Plenty, on writing. It's going to be different person-to-person, but I've discovered a lot in terms of my own. One, my writing skill is like a muscle: keep writing, and it stays turgid, sharp. Stop writing, and it quickly goes flaccid. Stephen King's said something similar before: you won't always get better when you write constantly, but for certain you won't get WORSE. And that is the case with me: my writing is downright CRAPPY when I stop for a long while, and that's currently what I'm suffering through now.

Second, my writing always improves when I READ. Read professional writing, as in published authors. In a way, books teach me how to write via example, and they are constantly improving my vocabulary and understanding of grammar and syntax. That is why I've never needed a Creative Writing class to learn how to write. All the lessons you'll ever need are in the Warrior Cats books, or in the Percy Jackson books, or in the Maximum Ride books.

So, read and always keep writing! And you'll be shocked at how your writing matures.

That's some simple, yet great advice! Did you get around to reading any of the other PWA entries this year?

Not many, due to a hectic semester. But now that I'm on winter break, I plan to take a look at some of them.

Do you any favorites that you would like to mention?

I haven't finished it yet, but Cora-chan's Bonds is pretty freaking addicting so far. But that's honestly the only one I've had time to look at thus far.

So how did you find out that Shade ranked number one? Did you watch the podcast? Or word of mouth? I know a lot of people were talking about it after the awards were announced.

I watched the stream! You guys did a nice job setting that up. I had forgotten that you guys were going to announce the awards early, though, so when you said so near the end, I was all, "Holy crap! My heart!" When the one-shot awards for places 2-5 came up and I didn't see Shade, I thought, "Okay, 50% chance I struck out this year..." And then the next screen came up with Shade's cover, and I was so happy. It's my first time getting first in a category!

And not only did you have Shade entered this year, you also had Boys with Flower's- Ranked 3rd in short story. Unfortunately, I haven't read this one, but is there anything you would like to say about?

Not one of my better short stories — in fact, I'm very surprised that it placed so high, if at all. Honestly, I didn't put enough Pokémon in it. Hopefully, I'll do better in my next short story entry.

One last question! Out of all the stories that you have written, do you have a personal favorite?

Out of the Pokémon stories? Fly Wingull Fly. I'm a Bio major, so it was fun to mix what I'd learned into the book and mix it with Pokémon and environmental awareness. Out of ALL of my works, though, What If Bowser Died takes the cake. I had a TON of fun writing that book in scripted format. Plus, it's my most popular: it's been added to a stunning amount of reading lists

Well, kimcgray95 it was wonderful to have the opportunity to chat with you a little bit. Thank you, and congratulations on your victories!

No, thank you, it was my pleasure.